The New York State Senate voted 38-24 against a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage. The State Assembly had approved the legislation, and Gov. David A. Paterson had said he would sign the bill.
Had the legislation passed, New York would have become the sixth state to legalize same-sex marriage. Last month, Maine barred same-sex marriage through a referendum after the legislature had legalized it. New York does not have a referendum process like Maine. Here’s more from Reuters:
New York’s Democratic-controlled state assembly has easily passed the bill legalizing same-sex marriage three times, but the legislation was never voted upon in the senate until now.
The Democrats hold a senate majority of 32 to 30, but several Democratic senators opposed legalizing gay marriage.
…Gay marriage activists will likely now turn their attention to New Jersey, where the Democratic-controlled state legislature is considering taking up the issue before Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine leaves office in January.
